Hydraulic crimp pressure feedback methods

ABSTRACT

A crimping system for crimping fittings on hoses is disclosed and include an interface and a crimper machine. The crimper machine is configured to analyze collected information based on identified hose and fitting properties; perform a crimping operation based on the collected information and the identified hose and fitting properties; measure crimping characteristics for the crimping operation; generate an alert based on the measured crimping characteristics and the collected information; and provide the alert to the interface.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional application62/743,760, filed Oct. 10, 2018.

FIELD

The field to which the disclosure generally relates is hydraulic hoseassembly manufacture methods and apparatus, and in particular usinghydraulic crimp pressure data feedback to improve accuracy of theinitial crimp or even detect potential crimp anomalies.

BACKGROUND

Hydraulic hoses convey hydraulic fluid to hydraulic systems, componentsand parts. Hydraulic systems utilize the hydraulic fluid at highpressure to operate and control their various components.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a crimping system in accordance withone or more embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of performing crimping inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description of the variations is merely illustrative innature and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the disclosure,its application, or uses. The description is presented herein solely forthe purpose of illustrating the various embodiments of the disclosureand should not be construed as a limitation to the scope andapplicability of the disclosure. In the summary of the disclosure andthis detailed description, each numerical value should be read once asmodified by the term “about” (unless already expressly so modified), andthen read again as not so modified unless otherwise indicated incontext. Also, in the summary of the disclosure and this detaileddescription, it should be understood that a value range listed ordescribed as being useful, suitable, or the like, is intended that anyand every value within the range, including the end points, is to beconsidered as having been stated. For example, “a range of from 1 to 10”is to be read as indicating each and every possible number along thecontinuum between about 1 and about 10. Thus, even if specific datapoints within the range, or even no data points within the range, areexplicitly identified or refer to only a few specific, it is to beunderstood that inventors appreciate and understand that any and alldata points within the range are to be considered to have beenspecified, and that inventors had possession of the entire range and allpoints within the range.

Unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive orand not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfiedby anyone of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (ornot present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present),and both A and B are true (or present).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elementsand components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely forconvenience and to give a general sense of concepts according to thedisclosure. This description should be read to include one or at leastone and the singular also includes the plural unless otherwise stated.

The terminology and phraseology used herein is for descriptive purposesand should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as“including,” “comprising,” “having,” “containing,” or “involving,” andvariations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subjectmatter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter notrecited.

Also, as used herein any references to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment.

Embodiments according to the disclosure are significantly more than anabstract idea(s), but rather are methods and apparatus utilizing aplurality of devices and data to form crimps for fittings secured withhoses.

Some embodiments according to the disclosure include at least a hose,one or more fittings, one or computing devices, crimping pressure data,and one or more crimping machine(s) to provide hydraulic crimp withimproved the accuracy of the initial crimp. Hydraulic fittings must becrimped to a specific crimp diameter in order to ensure that they willoperator properly. These crimp diameters are specified by the hose andfitting manufacturing and the crimper can be configured to crimp to thistarget crimp diameter.

The initial crimp is often inaccurate due to a number of factors, suchas spring back from the hose and fitting, wear and tear on the dies andcrimper, as well as manufacturing tolerances of the hose and fitting.

Embodiments according to the disclosure use the initial crimp target(set based on the manufacturer's specification) and pressure todetermine the probability that the crimp has been crimped to the targetdiameter. The crimper will iterate through multiple cycles, varying thecrimper setting automatically and using the pressure feedback toincrease the probability that the crimp is accurate. This is in contrastto the procedures where hose and fitting manufacturers recommend thatusers measure crimps to ensure accuracy, which involves removing thehose assembly from the crimper, measuring, reinserting and re-crimping(potentially multiple times) which is a time consuming process. Hence,some embodiments according to will reduce the time to get an accuratecrimp.

In some aspects, an algorithm is written in the software of the crimperto cycle the crimping until the algorithm determines the crimp accuracyprobability is high enough. Further, tracking the difference between theinitial target and the calculated accurate target could provide severalother benefits, such as providing an indication of the wear and tear ofthe machine, providing an indication of the manufacturing consistency ofthe hose and fitting products, or even providing an indication of thetypical spring back of the hose and fitting components.

Some other embodiments according to the disclosure include at least ahose, one or more fittings, one or computing devices, crimping pressuredata, and one or more crimping machine(s) to detect incorrectlymanufactured hydraulic hose assemblies during the crimping process. Theembodiments use information collected from previous hose assemblymanufacturing to determine when the crimping force needed to completethe crimp is outside of expected parameters. The operator may benotified about the exception so that an immediate inspection of the hoseassembly can be performed.

The collected information may take into account the individual machinethat is performing the crimp, the die set used in the crimping process,the hose type and size used in the hose assembly, or even the fittingtype and sized used in the hose assembly.

Detecting crimping force anomalies at the time of manufacture may allowthe operator to verify the quality of the crimped fitting on the hoseassembly. Also, detecting quality issues at the time of manufacture mayreduce the chances of an improperly manufactured hose assembly will beplaced into production. In addition, catching quality issues early mayreduce any downstream expenditures into the hose assembly.

According to the disclosure, hose assembly manufacturing data willcollected. This data will then be broken down by hose, fitting, hosesize, crimping equipment and die set. Once broken down, the data can beanalyzed to determine the normal expected range of crimping pressuresused for a specific combination of hose, fitting, size, die and crimper.With the expected operating range, crimping machines can detect crimpsoutside of this range and inform the operator so that they caninvestigate for potential: cracked fitting, improper insertion, orincorrect components. Crimping pressure analysis may also provideinsight into the maintenance status of a crimper and could direct anoperator to perform maintenance or request machine servicing.

Methods according to the disclosure may be carried out at one location,or a plurality of locations. The methods may utilize at least a hose,one or more fittings; one or computing devices or the like, crimpingpressure data, and one or more crimping machines. The various devicesinvolved in data communicating, evaluating, collecting, etc. may beconnected by any suitable method/apparatus, such as, Bluetooth, WIFI,hard wired, cellular communication, satellite communication, and thelike, or any combination thereof.

The above description applies to the embodiments described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a crimping system 100 in accordancewith one or more embodiments. The system 100 is provided forillustrative purposes and it is appreciated that suitable variations arecontemplated.

The system 100 includes a crimper interface 112, a crimper machine 102and storage 108. The system 100 operates on hydraulic hoses to crimpand/or connect hydraulic fittings to the hydraulic hoses.

For illustrative purposes, the system 100 is shown operating on ahydraulic hose 104 and a hydraulic fitting 106.

The storage 108 is configured to store and/or maintain collectedinformation. The storage 108 comprises a suitable storage media, such asvolatile memory, non-volatile memory, cloud storage and the like. Thecollected information can include crimper machine identification andproperties; one or more dies usable for crimping; hoses and hose types;fitting and fitting types, and the like.

The collected information can be provided to and updated by the crimpermachine 102.

The crimper machine 102 is configured to perform crimping operations andthe like on hydraulic hoses. Generally, the crimper machine 102identifies hose and fitting properties for the hose 104 and fitting 106,analyzes collected information based on the identified hose and fittingproperties to obtain a crimping force and the like, performs crimping ofthe hose 104 and generates measured crimping characteristics, andanalyzes the measured crimping characteristics, and can generate alertsand the like using the crimper interface 112.

The hose and fitting properties can include material, size, and thelike.

The crimping information includes a crimping force or range of forceused for crimping, one or more crimping dies that can be used and thelike. The crimping force or force range can also be referred to as atarget force range.

During the crimping operation, one or more sensors of or associated withthe machine 102 measures the force applied and generates forcemeasurements, which can be provided to the crimper machine 102 asgenerated measured crimping characteristics. It is appreciated that thecrimping characteristics can include other information related to thecrimping operation such as duration, and the like.

In one example, the one or more sensors include a strain gauge.

The crimper machine 102 can include circuitry, logic and the likeconfigured to perform various functionality, including at least portionsof the below method.

The crimper machine 102 analyzes the generated measured crimpingcharacteristics and the crimping information to determine results of thecrimping. In one example, the crimper machine 102 compares the crimpingforce with a range of forces to determine if the crimping force fallsoutside the range. In this example, an alert is provided to the crimperinterface 112 that the crimping was performed outside of the range ofcrimping forces. The alert can then be sounded or displayed by anotherdevice.

The determined results can include, for example, a successful crimp witha crimping force range, an under force crimping below the force of theobtained crimping information and the like, an over force crimping abovethe force of the obtained crimping information. It is appreciated thatother determined results are contemplated.

The determined results can also identify crimping force anomalies at thetime of manufacture and allow verification of the crimped hose to beperformed to determine the presence of a quality issue of the crimping.The identified anomalies and/or verification mitigates the occurrence ofimproperly manufactured hose assemblies. It is appreciated that theidentified anomalies can be due to cracked fitting, improper insertion,incorrect components and the like. Further, the determined results canalso be used to estimate a maintenance status of a crimper machine andcould predict or identify servicing.

The crimping force can also be referred to as crimping pressure.

The system 100 can include or utilize at least a hose, one or morefittings, one or computing devices, crimping pressure data, and one ormore crimping machine(s) to provide hydraulic crimp with improved theaccuracy of the initial crimp. Hydraulic fittings are typically crimpedto a specific crimp diameter in order to ensure that they will operateproperly. These crimp diameters are specified by the hose and fittingmanufacturing and the crimper can be configured to crimp to this targetcrimp diameter.

The initial crimp is often inaccurate due to a number of factors, suchas spring back from the hose and fitting, wear and tear on the dies andcrimper, as well as manufacturing tolerances of the hose and fitting.

The collected information can include categories such as fitting, hosesize, crimping equipment, die set and the like. The categories can beused to determine expected range of crimping pressures for combinationsof hose, fitting size, die, crimper and the like.

Crimping operations (measured crimping characteristics) can beidentified that occur outside the expected range.

The crimper machine 102 can also modify and/or update the crimpinginformation in the storage 108.

The system 100 can perform additional crimping operations and the like.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 200 of performingcrimping in accordance with one or more embodiments. The method 200 isprovided for illustrative purposes and it is appreciated that suitablevariations are contemplated.

The method 200 can be performed using the system 100 and/or additionalaspects and embodiments described herein. It is appreciated thatelements or blocks of the method 200 can be performed in other suitableorders. Further, it is appreciated that blocks can be omitted and otherblocks or functions performed that are not shown.

The method 200 begins at block 202, where a crimper machine 102identifies crimping properties for a hydraulic hose and fitting.

The crimper machine 102 analyzes collected crimping information at block204 to obtain a crimping force and other crimping information based onthe identified crimping properties for the hose and fitting. The crimpermachine 102 can obtain the collected crimping information from thestorage 108.

The crimper machine 102 performs crimping of the fitting onto the hoseat block 206 based on the obtained crimping force. The crimper machinealso generates measured crimping characteristics, which includes a usedcrimping force.

The crimper machine 102 analyzes the measured crimping characteristicsat block 208. The crimper machine 102 can also generate alerts based onthe measured crimping characteristics and the identified crimpingproperties.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electroniccircuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and/or memory(shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablehardware components that provide the described functionality. In someembodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functionsassociated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or moresoftware or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may includelogic, at least partially operable in hardware.

As it employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or deviceincluding, but not limited to including, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit, a digital signalprocessor, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logiccontroller, a complex programmable logic device, a discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions and/or processes describedherein. Processors can exploit nano-scale architectures such as, but notlimited to, molecular and quantum-dot based transistors, switches andgates, in order to optimize space usage or enhance performance of mobiledevices. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing processing units.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “data store,” datastorage,” “database,” and substantially any other information storagecomponent relevant to operation and functionality of a component and/orprocess, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory,” or components including the memory. It is noted that thememory components described herein can be either volatile memory ornonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory, forexample, can be included in a memory, non-volatile memory (see below),disk storage (see below), and memory storage (see below). Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory, programmableread only memory, electrically programmable read only memory,electrically erasable programmable read only memory, or flash memory.Volatile memory can include random access memory, which acts as externalcache memory.

Various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuitsdescribed in connection with aspects disclosed herein can be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform functions described herein. Ageneral-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but, in thealternative, processor can be any conventional processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implementedas a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of aDSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. Additionally, at least one processor can comprise one ormore modules operable to perform one or more of the s and/or actionsdescribed herein.

For a software implementation, techniques described herein can beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform functions described herein. Software codes can be stored inmemory units and executed by processors. Memory unit can be implementedwithin processor or external to processor, in which case memory unit canbe communicatively coupled to processor through various means as isknown in the art. Further, at least one processor can include one ormore modules operable to perform functions described herein.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. Example embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be sufficiently thorough, and willconvey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specificdetails are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices,and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of thedisclosure, but are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure. It will be appreciated that it is within the scope of thedisclosure that individual elements or features of a particularembodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but,where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selectedembodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same mayalso be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intendedto be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Also, in some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-knowndevice structures, and well-known technologies are not described indetail. Further, it will be readily apparent to those of skill in theart that in the design, manufacture, and operation of apparatus toachieve that described in the disclosure, variations in apparatusdesign, construction, condition, erosion of components, gaps betweencomponents may present, for example.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another region,layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numericalterms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner”, “adjacent”, “outer,”“beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be usedherein for ease of description to describe one element or feature'srelationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in thefigures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass differentorientations of the device in use or operation in addition to theorientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in thefigures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” otherelements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elementsor features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both anorientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented(rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relativedescriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described indetail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciatethat many modifications are possible without materially departing fromthe teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as definedin the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A crimping system for crimping fittings on hoses,the system comprising: an interface having an audio device and a videodisplay; one or more sensors including a strain gauge and the straingauge configured to measure an applied crimping force for a crimpingoperation of a hose to a fitting; a crimper machine having a processorconfigured to analyze collected information based on identified hose andfitting properties; perform the crimping operation based on thecollected information and the identified hose and fitting properties;measure crimping characteristics for the crimping operation; generate analert based on the measured crimping characteristics and the collectedinformation; and provide the alert to the interface; the processor ofthe crimper machine further configured to detect an inaccurate crimpfrom measurements of the one or more sensors and the measured crimpingcharacteristics due to spring back from the hose and the fitting; astorage configured to maintain the collected information and update thecollected information based on the measured crimping characteristics;and the measured crimping characteristics comprising force applied,applied force measurements, and crimping duration.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the crimper machine is configured to obtain theidentified hose and fitting properties based on a hydraulic hose.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the collected information consists offitting, hose size, crimping equipment, and die set.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the crimper machine is configured to determine acrimping pressure for the crimping operation based on the identifiedhose and fitting properties and the collected information.
 5. The systemof claim 1, wherein the crimper machine is configured to analyze themeasured crimping characteristics to determine if a used crimping forceis within a determined crimping force range.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the crimper machine is configured to generate the alert based onthe used crimping force being outside the determined crimping forcerange.
 7. The system of claim 1, the crimper machine is configured toinitiate a crimp verification based on a determined result.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, the crimper machine is configured to determineservicing and maintenance based on the measured crimpingcharacteristics.
 9. The system of claim 1, the crimper machine isconfigured to identify a potential cracking fitting and/or improperfitting insertion and/or improper die insertion based on the measuredcrimping characteristics and the collected information.
 10. The systemof claim 1, the crimper machine includes a selected die based on thecollected information and the identified hose and fitting properties.11. The system of claim 1, further comprising an external deviceconfigured to sound the alert.
 12. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising an external device configured to display the alert.